“Show, don’t tell” are possibly the most troublesome three words writers have to deal with. And yet, if done well, those three words will make our NaNoWriMo stories resonate with our readers like nothing else can. We’re halfway through NaNoWriMo with Seth and Scintilla Studio! Last week we helped expand your definition of “Write What…

We writers are often told to “write what we know,” which usually means that we should write based on personal experiences. But how does that work when you’re writing a medieval fantasy story? Or a historical fiction piece set in 1885? Welcome to Week Two of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) at Scintilla Studio! I’m…

My name is Seth, and I’ve been trying to write the same novel for five years. This month, I’m going to finish it. Welcome to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) at Scintilla Studio! My name is Seth, guest writer for Scintilla and your guide throughout the month of November as we write. Yes, ‘we.’ I’ll…

“I don’t think I could ever play Dungeons & Dragons,” I said. “That seems like crossing a line, maybe going a little too far for me.” My party’s Paladin is fond of reminding me I said that. About two years ago I crossed the last nerd threshhold and played my first game of Dungeons &…

“What are you playing tonight?” my party asked as I set a bulging tote bag on the table. “A Barbarian,” I said, smiling. “So what’s the ukulele for?” Dungeons & Dragons’ Fifth Edition made multiclassing much easier than previous editions. Too easy, in fact. One summer evening my Dungeon Master (DM) and I took this…

“How have you not started a band yet?” After twenty years as a musician and three as a creative lifestyle blogger, I’ve heard quite a few good reasons to start a band. Some of the best: Artists are people who make art; musicians are people who make music. The band provides accountability for daily practice.…

Accomplishing a creative challenge like writing 14 songs in 28 days doesn’t happen out of nothing. I’ve needed some advice and some inspiration over the last few weeks of February Album Writing Month. Here are three resources that taught me a lot about how to write a song, chosen from a variety of media to…

“The Blueberry is pretty sensitive,” the audio engineer told me, adjusting the height of the little black microphone. “Keep it at about your chin so we can avoid harsh plosives.” Bare bulbs and wood paneling surrounded me, and my own voice was crisp through my headphones. My friends over at Stalwart Theater had asked me…

I’m only kind of an artist. But I’ve learned before that artists are people who make art, not just people with great talent. So when Inktober 2017 came around this year, I decided to get on the bandwagon. Launching Scintilla Studio means I need a lot more visual assets for the website and our projects…

One of the simplest and most elusive truths about a creative lifestyle is that artists are the people who create art. Paul Simon summed up his decades of creative experience in his song “Hurricane Eye”: “You want to be a writer, but you don’t know how or when? Find a quiet place, use a humble…